Hunting and fishing access would be allowed on 1.4 million additional acres of federal lands on 74 national wildlife refuges and 15 national fish hatcheries under a plan proposed by the Interior Department.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt credited President Donald Trump with expansion of public access to federal lands, calling hunting and fishing “vital to the conservation of our lands and waters, our outdoor recreation economy, and our American way of life.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to administer the new rules, which are aimed at simplifying refuge-specific hunting and fishing regulations. Public comments currently are being accepted for the plan before final action. The changes would be made in time for this year’s hunting and fishing seasons.
The changes would affect three Wisconsin sites:
• Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge: Open to big game hunting (white-tailed deer) and sport fishing for the first time
• Iron River National Fish Hatchery: Formally open to migratory game bird (duck, geese, coot, mourning dove, snipe, woodcock, rail and crow), upland game (rabbit, grouse, squirrel, fox, raccoon, pheasant, Hungarian partridge, quail, bobcat and coyote) and big game (white-tailed deer, black bear and turkey) hunting for the first time
• Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge: Open sport fishing for the first time on acres already open to other activities.
Read the full press release here: www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-bernhardt-proposes-increasing-public...
Comments can be made online at www.regulations.gov.
Spring turkey numbers
Wisconsin’s spring turkey hunters registered 38,556 birds this year, down just a few hundred birds from last year’s total of 38,885.
Hunters in zone 3, which includes Shawano and Waupaca counties, harvested 9,499 gobblers, the second-best zone total in the state, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The top zone was 1 with 10,334 birds, and the third-best was zone 2 with 9,321. The overall success rate was about 18 percent, nearly the same as last year.
The big difference between the two years occurred with the youth season. Last year’s hunt fell during a record blizzard that made hunting nearly impossible, with the total harvest just 950 birds. This year’s more moderate weather brought in 1,953 toms for young hunters during the two-day season.
A total of 213,078 turkey permits were issued, including those sold over the counter during the season. Last year, hunters bought 212,781 permits.
The fall season for zones 1-5 is Sept. 14-Jan. 5, and in zones 6-7 is Sept. 14-Nov. 22. There is no drawing for permits: everyone is able to buy one. Additional permits are available in August. Both hens and toms are legal game during the fall season.
Elk hunters determined
Five hunters have been selected to participate in Wisconsin’s second modern elk hunt this fall.
Four hunters from the towns of Medford, Cameron, Cumberland and Grand View were drawn randomly from more than 23,000 applicants. The fifth hunter, from Hazel Green, was selected in a prize drawing June 1 at the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation fundraising dinner in Wausau.
This year’s hunt will occur in the Clam Lake elk range in parts of Sawyer, Bayfield, Ashland and Price counties in far north-central Wisconsin, where last year’s inaugural hunt occurred. This is also where the original restoration effort began in 1995 with 25 elk from Michigan.
The herd is projected to be as high as 230 animals this year, not including more than 50 elk that are currently in quarantine as part of the final year of reintroduction efforts.
Wolf numbers up
Wisconsin has almost 1,000 gray wolves within its boundaries, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Monitoring by more than 100 volunteers and DNR staff also show that the number of wolf packs has increased from 238 last year to 243 this past winter. These monitors believe that a minimum of 914 to 978 wolves survived the winter, based on their methodology.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently recommended removing the wolf from the Endangered Species List, which would allow Wisconsin and other states to manage the wolf population and restore a carefully controlled hunting season, as was allowed a few years ago. It would also make controlling rogue wolves that are attacking livestock much easier.
A few animal rights groups have used the court system to fight efforts to allow state management of wolves.
Good news for grouse hunters
Drumming surveys indicate a 41 percent increase in drumming activity this spring over last.
Grouse populations typically cycle, and last year’s low numbers likely represented the end of the down cycle, according to the DNR.